Mission Statement:
To help restore the proper relationship between our officials in Washington and the citizens of our nation, between bearing our own burdens and bearing one another’s burdens, among competing interests, and to promote the ideal of “doing all that is necessary to achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

Monday, October 18, 2010

"Many Gifts, One Spirit"

Not long ago, the Taipei International Church (TIC) Choir sang the Allen Pote hymn "Many Gifts, One Spirit." . It appears that the hymn means different things to different people. During choir practice, one of the members of the choir told what it meant to her. Her husband was dying of brain cancer, and she found in the hymn a source of strength. She had to be at the hospital on the day the choir sang "Many Gifts, One Spirit," but the sound and light crew of TIC recorded the hymn for her benefit. When they listened to it together, they found themselves in what the ancient Celts called a "thin place." That's a place where the skein separating heaven and Earth is so thin that the beauty of our Merciful Heavenly Father shines through it. The husband has recently gone to be with our Lord.

I saw other possibilities in the hymn. I see it as a vision of harmony among the peoples of the world. After all, we have One Creator, and He loves us all. We all see Him only dimly, as through a clouded mirror; but one day we'll see Him face to face. If the composer and copyright holder, Allen Pote, sees what I did to his work, I hope he doesn't mind. I also hope that the members of the Taipei International Church appreciate it.